Do you love to read a good birth story? Are you tired of only hearing people’s horror stories about birth? If either of these applies to you, you might want to check out The Many Faces of Home Birth by Shantel Silbernagel. It is a collection of a good variety of birth stories.
I hadn’t been to my local library in about a year or so. (Darn those library fines.). I decided to get my fines paid off, because I intended to use the library a lot during this homeschool year with my 9 year old. Since it had been awhile since I had been to the library, I decided to check out the pregnancy and birth section to see if any new books had come in. I was very excited to find this gem. It immediately came home with me. I can’t say that I read it quickly. I have had it since September and kept getting distracted by Amish romance novels, a few books on running a business, and a series about a city midwife who moves a small mountain town. Oh, and don’t forget Netflix and Hulu.
I don’t know why I kept getting so distracted because I really enjoyed the variety of stories. Some women had short labors and others long ones. Complications are mentioned as are how they are handled. There is a story about a lesbian couple and not just their birth story, but their story of conception and finding a midwife willing to work with them. There is a whole section on VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) which is a topic near to my heart. There is even a section on home birth from the dad’s prospective.
So if you are looking for a good read or want some birth stories to help keep your pregnancy focused on the positive, I definitely recommend checking this book out. Don’t forget to read the birth stories of my clients found here as well.
